Advertisement
The road was rough and windy on the way to the jungle. We drove through Puyo and past Tena. Parking up next to the Rio Napo, we took a 10 minute boat road to the lodge where were staying, the Anaconda Lodge. We passed a really flash lodge first so we were a little disappointed when we arrived to our lodge which was a lot more basic with a few disused buildings rotting away as well as some half built buildings. Our room was a simple wooden room with netting instead of windows. The room was in a building of 6 rooms. On stilts and all wooden, you could feel and hear every movement that other people made. But we did get mosquito nets and later we would find that the owner, Adonis, and his staff are a fantastic bunch of people. We didn´t have electricity in our room but the candlelight was romantic.
Dinner was very organised. Budget and Kamuka were also there making for a full restaurant to be fed. We got mushroom soup followed by a meat stew with veg, and a banana in booze for dessert. It was all very efficient with all the guys
helping to serve and collect dishes. After dinner we were all told about the activities that had been organised for us for the next day.
We were spoilt with breakfast. There were pancakes and big bowl of fruit with granola optional.
Our group went off for a 4 hour jungle walk. Olivier took us. His english is not brilliant but he had a great sense of humour. We were wearing gumboots and as soon as we got off the boat I ended up knee deep in mud. Great start but everyone found it amusing. It was very muddy through most of the walk and a little tiring, but we stopped frequently to be shown bugs and plants. Olivier demonstrated how the locals made things out of the leaves and utilised the plants for medicine. He showed us which vines it was safe to drink water from (the ones with red wood) and he made some curare which tasted bitter. Although it is poisonous, it does get used as a cure for snake bites. After 3 hours we got to a river that we had to wade through to get to the boats. Took close on an hour and
parts were up to our chests and you couldn´t see the bottom so had to feel your way along with your feet. And of course Olivier made lots of jokes about Piranhas. It was tremendous fun.
All drippy we had lunch on the boats. Rice with meat. Not fantastic but better than a sandwich. And coke was served which everyone needed.
We then stopped a bit further away at a museum. Olivier showed us all the different technics for trapping animals and about the local culture and showed us some snakes and bugs in jars, pointing out the poisonous ones. It took a while and was getting a little boring but then he cracked open a red spiky fruit and painted all the girls faces. That was fun. We then tried our hand at blow darting. Some got the target. Some just about got the chickens wandering the background.
Final stop for the day was a wildlife sanctuary where they keep rescued animals. We were greeted by a monkey that climbed on the boat. There were more monkeys wandering around and some birds. There was a toucan, lots more monkeys, capybaras (big rodents), wild pigs, ocelots which
were very cute and a black cat from Peru. He looked a bit like a weasel and was found in a hotel room after the owner changed his mind about his black market purchase. We were shown around by an american biology student who was volunteering for 7 weeks. She had been there a week.
We got back around 6 pm. Time for a cold shower before dinner. We had another nice evening of eating and drinking. Some locals came to perform for us. It was a family, and while dad and the older children played instruments the 4 youngest danced. 2 boys and 2 older girls. All in grass skirts they grabbed people out of the audience to dance. I had my turn but Pieter didn´t. The same tune was played 4 or 5 times to get around everyone. The kids were very brave, dragging the big funny looking people onto the dance floor. The youngest boy fell asleep in Jacqui´s arms.
The next day was another jungle walk. We started out alright, looking at plantations of bananas and cocao but Olivier soon started cutting his way through the bush, making a path that eventually led down
Animal sanctuary
Welcoming committee a muddy bank. Very treacherous. Mark took a tumble, head over heals, but survived. Hazel lost her sunnies. Pieter made his own path like a monkey, but he had to help me get down the worst bits. My legs were shaking by the time we reached the bottom. On the way we saw a tarantula, big and hairy. That was cool.
We then chugged up a tributary and took a little walk to try and see some caiman. The water in the pond was extremely stagnant and very dark. Olivier tried his best to coax some out with a piece of meat tied to string but there was no success. Back at the river, we crossed to have lunch in a shack where we were served spag bol and coke. Simple but we were hungry. We then spent some time swimming in the river. It was lovely. There was a strong current in the middle but you could get across it, wade upstream, and float down in it.
We were absolutely exhausted when we returned to the lodge but we were happy to find the other groups gone. This evening we had a shaman visiting but we were
so exhausted we skipped it. It started to rain also which ruined the bonfire. It didn´t stop raining all night and the noise on the roof was horrendously loud and lightening regularly lit up the room. Not much sleep.
Woke up with a filthy cold. After breakfast I returned to bed while Pieter went across the river with some of the others to see pottery making and chicha brewing. They went to the posh lodge. You could stay there for US $95. There are hammocks outside every room.
We slept the afternoon away as it is was still raining. When it finally stopped we made a halfhearted effort to go for a walk which was thwarted by mosquitos and a lack of repellent. So we played last card and I drank whiskey for my cold. After dinner I went straight to bed but was disturbed by the sounds of people who had decided to try the hallucinogenic drug provided by the shaman. They had not eaten all day and paid $5. The 3 girls in the room one away from ours were giggling, throwing up and falling of their beds. They said later that it was not a
Animal sanctuary
An ocelot eying up the flightless bird that had followed us on the tour of the sanctuary good trip.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.14s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 26; qc: 109; dbt: 0.091s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb